Is A Picture Worth a Thousand Words?
My Dad and Me
My Dad walking with one of the visiting nurses, my wife, and my Mother.
The adage that a “Picture is worth a thousand words” is embraceable and even believable. But when you begin to explore “ethnography” it is quite easy to question is what I am seeing the truth of the thousand words that I am getting ready to presuppose? Reading Doing Visual Ethnography by Sarah Pink challenges just the “seeing” of the picture.
As I read Pink’s work I navigated to find the crux, the central message, the catalytic moment, and the breakthrough. It was slow in coming but methodically outlined and quite convicting in various ways as I ingested her world of ethnography. She admits that this is her third writing of this material because of the cultural shift of capturing images.
I think she said it best, about the process of ethnography, “…when we write, think and make images in this field, we do not ever arrive at an end. We instead end in a moment, a temporary configuration which is of course over by the time our work is published or otherwise disseminated. Doing Visual Ethnography is not a method – not something that is ‘done’ but something that is happening in the doing, and the doing is ongoing as technology, practice, and life move forward in new ways.” (Pink, 213)
Ethnography is not a finished work. It is a pause in time with all of the information that you have at that moment. This spoke to me as an individual, spiritual leader, and as a son. I contemplated how many times I have taken the mental “picture” and did not truly assess the story behind my “picture”? How many judgment calls were made without knowing more of the story than the paltry pieces that I had conjured or had heard second-hand?
The pictures above are of my Dad. He is in Stage Four Alzheimer’s. What is “seen” is an older gentleman that is struggling with walking and seems to have a great support group to help him. Reading Doing Visual Ethnography has created a new sixth sense to what I see and what I allow my mind to capture.
When you view the above pictures you may have an emotion that arises for an older family member or you may have compassion for the elderly. You could rejoice that he is still active and thankful for the family and medical assistance that has been made available. When I see the pictures emotions, smells, and sounds emerge. Emotions of loss and displacement from my Dad. Anger when he is combative and agitated and has to be restrained. Smells…well let’s just leave at that, you can probably figure that part out. Sounds from my Dad are now grunts with maybe three to five intelligible words a day.
Ethnographer? Probably more than I knew. We live our lives assessing our situations, surroundings and the people that all of these interact within. For the most part I would say most of us try our best to not jump to conclusions.
Recently I was with my Dad (he lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida) and we took him out to eat. Now I was the party with the individual that was socially awkward. Here I was with the adult wearing a bib and making strange noises at times, yet enjoying his food immensely. I am not sure how the “ethnography” worked with the people around me.
Doing Visual Ethnography at first glance is more of an expanded base of knowledge on techniques and protocol. By the time I finished it was a work on “seeing” the picture with more than the eye. It prompted me to cautiously view people, situations, and pictures with a different set of lenses. I still believe a picture, by itself, does speak a thousand words. There is a story behind the picture that embraces a myriad of sounds, smells, and emotions that are worth millions of words.
4 responses to “Is A Picture Worth a Thousand Words?”
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Your pictures of your dad and mom are very identifiable. The line that you have about the smells is one of those things that is embedded in your mind if you have spent any amount of time visiting or engaging with this “culture.” Interesting to be reading this book at this part of the journey.
I believe it will make us better at observing and bringing a much broader context to what we write and start to present. Do you believe the context for a minister is to be a story telling ethnographer? Using words to often paint the picture without the picture? Is that one of the strengths of a great communicator?
Kevin
I had to think about your questions. First question, yes we are to tell the story as an ethnographer. Part of proper exegesis is to know the culture, setting, and implied audience. To truly relay His Word we need to be trained ethnographers to do the Scripture the justice that is needed. Second question, in regards to using words to paint the picture. With technology today we can do both….words and pictures/videos/clips. In fact today’s audience almost expects that from my perspective.
Is that one of the strengths of a good orator? Definitely. When you can “see” what they are “saying” there has been true connection.
Phil
Phil,
Thanks for sharing a precious moment in your life. Ethnography is not only active, it encompasses one’s whole being – all the senses, the emotions, the memories, the experiences, the culture, and on and on. One thing Sarah Pink has taught me in Doing Visual Ethnography is not to allow my prejudgments and presuppositions to reign. We need to strive to forego our prejudices and to be more objective by investigating the facts associated with images. I have never been able to view images in the same way since reading her book.
Claire:
I agree it has caused me to assess both pictures and people much differently. Pink talks about obtaining permission from the participant. How many times do we truly do that? We make an assumption without information or permission from the other person.
Thanks,
Phil